It’s not so very long ago that the name Erwin Schulhoff
was barely seen in the record catalogues, but the late 1980s
and 1990s saw his rehabilitation as a marketable composer rather
than just as a tragic historical statistic; a member of that
unfortunate group of ‘forbidden’ composers and ultimately
one of the victims of the Nazi concentration camps.

This survey of Schulhoff’s sonatas for violin and piano,
the Suite and Sonata for solo violin demands comparison
with volume 3 of the Czech Supraphon label’s excellent
series of Schulhoff’s chamber music, that withviolinistIvan
Zenatý and pianist Josef Hála. This appears to
be unavailable at the moment but is still worth seeking out
if you can find a copy. These players perform with great panache
and in a typically resonant acoustic, Zenatý’s
violin sound darker than Tanja Becker-Bender’s more silvery
tones, but otherwise comparably attuned to Schulhoff’s
idiom and brilliant technical craftsmanship. There are other
recordings of these pieces scattered through numerous recitals,
but I couldn’t find any others which gather them in their
entirety.

These works divide themselves into two pairs in two periods,
early and mature. The Suite is Schulhoff’s first
work in an extended form, exploring a richly romantic style
even though the five movements are given antique dance names.
There are elements of pastiche, and a revue of influences ranging
from that of his teacher Max Reger, perhaps a bit of César
Franck in the first and a whiff of Wagner in the final movements.
Contrasting lightness in movements such as the Gavotte
cast back to earlier styles, but filtered through a clear prism
of originality and inventiveness. The players on this Hyperion
disc give wit and character to these movements, as well as appropriate
seriousness and weight of expression in this most tasty of first
courses.

The Sonata No.1 was also written while Schulhoff was
still a student at the age of nineteen, but already shows a
considerable advance from the Suite in terms of its more
adventurous approach to harmony. In the intervening period Schulhoff
had discovered the music of Debussy, and little shafts of that
composer’s harmonic colours shine through frequently in
this piece. The late romantic atmosphere remains, but the strength
of the musical ideas has toughened up, giving this piece greater
endurance and a lasting appeal. The first two movements are
invested with the greatest artistic energy, and the piece fades
out somewhat towards the end as a result, but the argument made
for its status as a repertoire piece is made flawlessly by Becker-Bender/Becker.

The Sonata for solo violin brings us to 1927, and sees
Erwin Schulhoff inhabiting the feverish creative hotpot of inter-war
Paris. White-hot intensity in the opening Allegro con fuoco
is the kind of thing Tanja Becker-Bender clearly relishes, but
her expressive and technically superb double-stopping in the
second movement is also a joy to behold. The same goes for the
witty slides of the Scherzo, and the folk-influenced final Allegro
risoluto is a real tour-de-force. Richly recorded, this
is a tremendous vehicle for Becker-Bender’s Guarneri instrument
and a deeply satisfying performance.

1926-28 saw some of Schulhoff’s best forays into the jazz
style in his solo piano pieces, but the solo Sonata is
far removed from these influences and there are only a very
few moments where the popular idiom can be said to creep into
the Sonata No.2. This is by no means a jazz-inspired
piece, and Nigel Simeone’s thorough booklet notes cite
Béla Bartòk as one of the main driving forces
behind the work’s genesis. A comparable feel for melodic
gesture and harmonic colour are clearly to be heard, as well
as a folk-like flavour in some of the violin treatment. Schulhoff’s
own voice refuses to be categorised, but there is no denying
the forceful nature of the music in this piece, and his influences
aren’t use as a crutch to prop up a lack of personal creative
energy. Instead these striking outside forces seem to be gathered
from the ether and channelled into new energies and brand new
music.

In terms of performance the duo Becker-Bender/Becker does have
the edge on that of Zenatý/Hála. The dynamic swings
and responsiveness to Schulhoff’s vivid and ceaselessly
lively inventiveness are done to a higher degree of intensity
in this recording, another layer peeled from the gauze of history
and a greater depths and insights into and beyond the notes
gained and to be relished. Presented chronologically, the impact
of the Sonata No.2 is gritty and demanding: a yet further
development on the folk influences which arise in the finale
of the solo Sonata, and an entire river full of stepping-stones
away from the youthful works with which we started. Tanja Becker-Bender
and Markus Bender’s synergy as a duo is superb and the
overall results on such a stunning recording - including the
inspired use of Paul Klee for the cover art - can only be reported
in superlatives.

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